Coal-loading apparatus.



H. B. DOHER'TY.

COAL LOADING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT 19. 1914.

1,264,348. v Patented Nov. 7, 1916.

I 3 $HEETSSHEET 1' Flgl I: B? '1 8 3'5 E 241 WiTnesses. lnventor.

- 931% Harry BDoherIy mm 01 b yamwum H. B. DOHERTY.

COAL LOADING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 19. 1914.

11 2@%.,3%8. Patented Nov. 7, 1916.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

VViTnesses. lnvenfor.

Harry B. Doherty,

HG AFPARATUS.

COAL LOAD APPLICATION? Fazentei NW. 7, 1916.

w E? Q.

.D SEPT.19.19I4.

HARRY.B. DOI-IERTY, 0F EVERETT, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TOJAMES M. MGCLELLON, OF EVERETT, MASSACHUSETTS.

COAL-LOADING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. '7, 1916.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HARRY B. Doi-IERTY, asubject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Everett, county ofMiddlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement inCoal-Loading Apparatus, of which the following description, inconnection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, likecharacters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to apparatus for automatically loading materialfrom a source of supply into successive cars as they are passing along atrack, and the object of the invention is to provide a novel device ofthis nature in which successive charges will be delivered to thesuccessive cars on the track without any spilling of the material,regardless of the distance between the cars and the speed at which theyare moving relative to the loading apparatus, and also to provide anapparatus of this nature which will automatically prevent any car fromreceiving a charge larger than a. predetermined maximum amount.

I accomplish the object herein by providing a hopper into which the coalis delivered from the source of supply and means operated by the carpassing along the track to efiect a discharge of the contents of thehopper into the car and at the same time to stop the delivery ofmaterial into the hopper from the source of supply, which means operatesautomatically to permit further discharge of material into the hopperfrom the source of supply as soon as the contents of the hopper havebeen delivered to the car. I also provide means by which the dischargeof material into the hopper is stopped as soon as the hopper contains apredetermined amount. By this means I provide a loading apparatus whichoperates to deliver to each car as it passes the hopper whatever amountof material is in the hopper at the time, and to allow a steady flow ofmaterial into the hopper from the source of supply except when thehopper contains its predetermined maximum charge, or when the contentsof the hopper are being discharged into the car, or when the source ofsupply is cut ed.

The device is entirely automatic in its operation and needs'noattention; it will operate rapidly with certainty and without spillingany material.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention the hopper is provided witha dis charge opening which is closed by a gate and means are providedwhich are operated by a passing car to eifect an opening of the gate toallow the contents of the hopper to be discharged into the car, andassociated with this gate is another gate which operates to preventdelivery of material to the hopper while the hopper gate is open. Mydevice also includes means associated with the hopper for preventingfurther discharge of material thereinto when the hopper has received apredetermined amount, thus precluding the possibility of a chargegreater than a predetermined maximum amount being delivered to any car.

In order to give an understanding of the invention I have illustrated inthe drawings a selected embodiment thereof which will be described,after which the novel features of the invention will be pointed out inthe appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front view of an apparatus embodying myinvention; Fig. 2 is a side view of Fig. 1 looking to ward the left insaid figure; Fig. 3 is a partial sectional view through the hopper onthe line ww, Fig. 4:. ,Fig. t is a side view of Fig. 1 looking towardthe right; Fig. 5 is a detail of the gate-operating mechanism.

I have herein shown my improvements as used in connection with adelivery chute l which leads from a suitable source of supply, as, forinstance, a storage bin, or a hopper into which coal or ore is deliveredby a hoisting apparatus. However, the character of the source of supplyis immaterial so far as the invention is concerned. Associated with thechute 1 is a hopper 2 having an open top into which the chute 1 deliversand provided with a discharge open ing which is controlled by a gate 3.The operation of the gate 3 is controlled by the movement of the cars 25on the track 24 as they pass beneath the hopper 2, and the illustratedconstruction embodies means which are set in operation by a car passingbeneath the hopper to open the gate 3 thereby to allow the contents ofthe hopper to be discharged into the car and to simultaneously close thechute 1 so as to prevent any discharge of material into the hopper whilethe gate 3 is open. In addition the hopper has associated therewithmeans which become operative when the hopper has received apredetermined charge of material to close the chute 1 so as to preventmore than said predetermined charge of material from being deliverecl'tothe hopper, thus preventing the possibility of any car receiving morethan such predetermined charge from the hopper.

Any suitable car-actuated means for opening the gate 3 may be employed.I prefer, -however, to employ some power mechanism for giving movementto the gate 3 and to provide means for controlling the operation of thispower mechanism by the movement of the passing car. In the illustratedembodiment of my invention the gate 3 is connected by a link 26 with anarm or lever 27 pivoted at 28 to the chute or to the framework, and thislever is connected by a link 29 with the piston rod 30 of a piston 32operating in a power cylinder 31 that is suitably sustained by theframework. The ad mission of the motive fluid, whether it be steam,compressed air or any other fluid, to the cylinder 31 is controlled by ahollow-piston valve 33 of usual construction which opcrates in a valvechest 71 to which steam is admitted through the supply pipe 72 and whichis provided with the usual exhaust 73. The valve chest is connected tothe top of the cylinder 31 through the port 7 1 and to the bot-tom ofthe cylinder 31 through the port 7 5, the construction being such thatwhen the valve is in its lowered position, as seen in Fig. 5, steam willbe admitted to the top of the cylinder and exhausted from the lower endthereof, while when the valve is in its elevated position steam will beadmitted to the lower end of the cylinder and exhausted from the top endthereof. This valve 33 is connected by a stem 34 with an arm 35connected to a sliding actuator 36 which is mounted in suitable bearings37 carried by the framework. The actuator 36 has at its lower end a foot38 situated to be engaged by a shoe 39 carried by the car 25, theconstruction being such that as the car passes beneath the hopper 2 theshoe 39 will engage the foot 38 thereby to raise the actuator 36 andshift the valve 33 into position to admit motive fluid to the lower endof the cylinder 31. hen this occurs, the piston 32 will be forcedupwardly thereby acting through the connection 30, 29, 27 to raise thegate 3 and allow the contents of the hopper 2 to be discharged into thecar 25. It will be noted that the bottom of the hopper 2 has aconsiderable inclination so that as soon as the gate 3 is raised thecontents of the hopper will be rapidly discharged into the car 25.

In order to prevent any coal from being discharged from the chute intothe hopper 2 while the gate 3 is open I have provided a gate 40 for thechute which is rigid with 7 cured.

the lever 27, said gate preferably being fast to the rock shaft 28 towhich said lever is se- This gate 40 will be opened when the gate 3is'closed, but .will be raised into closed position to close the chutewhen the long as the gate 3 is open. hen the foot 38 has passed off fromthe shoe 39 the "8.1"6 33 will be thrown into the position shown in Fig.5 by means of a suitablespring 41, such operation of the valve resultingin admitting motive fluid to the top of the cylinder 31 whereby thepiston 32 is forced downwardly and the gate 3 is closed. The closing ofthe gate 3 will open the gate 40 thereby admitting a fresh charge ofcoal to the hopper 2.

As stated above my invention aims to provide a mechanism which willprevent a charge greater than a predetermined amount from beingdelivered to the hopper 2. 1 accomplish this end by providing the chute1 with a second gate 13 which is normally open but which is closed toprevent the charge of material from the chute 1 whenever the hopper 2has received its predetermined amount. This gate 13 is shown as having ageneral sector-shape and as being pivotally mounted on a rock shaft 14:,the side 15 of the gate constituting the bottom of the chute when thegate is open. When, however, the gate is thrown upwardly into the dottedline position Fig.2 the end thereof will constitute a barrier across thechute which will prevent the passage of material therethrough.

16 designates a stop to limit the opening movement of the gate and holdit in the position shown in Fig. 4, and 66 is a stop which engages theunderside of the chute when the gate is closed and limits its closingmovement. Means are provided for closing the gate 13 when the hopper 2has received a predetermined amount of material. In the presentembodiment of my invention 1 obtain this end by yieldingly sustainingthe hopper 2 and providing means actuated by the yielding movement ofthe-hopper when it receives its predetermined load for actuating thegate 13. The hopper is herein shown as pivotally mounted at its lowercorner on a shaft or rod 5 and it is yieldingly sustained in theposition shown in Fig. 1 by means of one or more levers 6 pivoted at 7and acted on by springs 8, the tension of the springs 8 determining theamount of the predetermined load. The hopper is shown as having an earor lug 11 which engages the end of the lever 6, there preferably beingtwo such levers, one at each corner of the hopper.

The-spring 8 for each lever is shown as a coil spring encircling ananchoring bolt 10 secured in the frame 1, said bolt carrying a collar orwasher 9 between which and the lever 6 the spring 8 is confined. Thesesprings 8 normally hold the hopper in the position shown in Fig. 1, butwhen the hop per has received a predetermined load the springs willyield allowing the hopper to turn about the pivot 5 until it engages arest or stop 12. This yielding movement of the hopper is made use of toactuate the gate 13, and while any suitable means for this purpose maybe employed, I have herein shown a power cylinder 17 having a pistontherein, the piston rod 18 of which is connected by a link 19 of an arm20 fast to the rock shaft 14 so that movement of the arm 20 and rockshaft 14 will actuate the gate 13.

The operation of the piston in the cylinder 17 is controlled by a valvedesignated generally by 21 and similar to the valve 33, the valve stem63 being connected by connections 23 with the hopper 2 so that theyielding movement of the hopper above referred to will actuate the valvein a direction to admit steam to the top of the cylinder 17. hen thisoccurs the piston will be forced downwardly thereby swinging the rockshaft 1 and gate 13 into the dotted line position Fig. 2. Thisconstruction, therefore, provides means for cutting off the furtherdischarge of material from the chute 1 into the hopper 2 whenever thelatter has received a predetermined load. hen the hopper has beendischarged the springs 8 will return the latter to the position shown inFig. 1, thus shifting the valve 21 into position to bring the parts backto their normal position shown in full lines Fig. 2.

The operation of the device will be readily understood. WVhen the partsare in their normal position the gates 13 and 40 for the chute are openand the hopper gate 3 is closed, thus permitting material to bedelivered to the hopper. If a car passes along the track 24 beneath thehopper 2 before the latter has received its predetermined load, themovement of the car will cause the gate 3 to be opened and the gate 40to be closed, thus allowing the material in the hopper to be dischargedinto the car and at the same time preventing the discharge of materialfrom the chute into the hopper while the contents of the hopper arebeing transferred to the car. It is, therefore, impossible for any carto receive more material than is in the hopper at the time that the carpasses beneath the hopper. If, however, the material is being deliveredto the hopper through the chute at such a speed that the hopper wouldreceive more than the predetermined charge during the time elapsingbetween the passage of two successive cars, then the tension of thesprings 8 will be overcome and the hopper will move against the rest 12,this &

movement operating to raise the gate 13 and stop further discharge ofmaterial through the chute. The parts will then remain in this positionwith the hopper filled and the flow of material through the chutestopped until a car comes again to raise the gate 3. The raising of thegate 3 will be accompanied by the closing of the gate 410 so that whenthe material in the hopper is discharged into the car and the hopperresumes its normal position shown in Fig. 1 and the gate 13 is openedthe gate lO is still in operative position to prevent the flow ofmaterial into the hopper until after the gate 3 has been closed.

From the above it will be seen that it will be impossible for anymaterial to be spilled by overfilling the car or by overfilling thehopper 2, and it will further be seen that the gate 3 will always beclosed when there is no car beneath the hopper and will only be openedwhen there is a car in position to reeeive the contents of the hopper.

The hopper gate 3 is shown as guided in ways 61 formed on the hopper and62 represents stops to limit the opening movement of the gate. Thehopper 2 constitutes a receiving member into which the material isreceived preparatory to its being loaded into the car and by the termreceiving member as used in the claims, I mean to include any receptacleinto which material can be received and retained during the interval between successive cars.

While I have illustrated herein a selected embodiment of my invention Ido not wish to be limited to the constructional features shown.

I claim:

1. In a loading apparatus, the combination with a receiving member, ofmeans to deliver material thereto, means actuated by a car passingadjacent said member to effect a transfer of the contents of said memberto the car, means to prevent the delivery of material to the memberwhile such transfer is being effected, and other means independent fromthe last-named means to prevent the delivery of material to said memberwhen the latter has received a predetermined amount.

2. The combination with a receiving member having a discharge openingand a gate therefor, of a chute to deliver material to the receivingmember, means set in operation by a car passing adjacent said member toopen the gate thereby to efiect transfer of its contents to the car,means operative when the gate is open to stop delivery of materialthrough the chute into said receiving member, and other meansindependent fro-m the last-named means to prevent the delivery ofmaterial to said member when the latter has received a predeterminedamount.

3. In a loading apparatus, the combinagate by which the chute may beclosed, connections between said gates whereby they operatesimultaneously and in such manner that the gate for the chute is closedwhen the gate for the receiving member is open and vice versa, means setin operation by a car passing beneath said member to open the gatethereof whereby the contents of said member will be discharged into thecar and to close the gate of the chute, and means structurallyindependent from said latter gate to prevent the delivery of materlal tosaid member when the member has received a predetermined amount.

a. In a loading apparatus, the combination with a-receiving memberhaving a discharge opening and a gate therefor, of a chute to delivermaterial to the receiving member, a normally open gate to close thechute, connections between said gates whereby they operate in unison butoppositely so that when one is open the other is closed and vice versa,car-actuated means to operate the gates and other means to stop the flowof material to the receiving member when the latter has received apredetermined amount.

5. In a loading apparatus, the combination with a receiving memberhaving a discharge opening and a gate therefor, of a chute to delivermaterial to the receiving member, a normally-open gate to close thechute, connections between said gates whereby when one is open the otheris closed, an actuating cylinder having a power piston therein connectedto said gates, means actuated by a car passing beneath the receivingmember to control the operation of said piston and other means toprevent the delivery of material to the receiving member when it hasreceived a predetermined amount.

6. In a coal-loading apparatus, the combination with a receiving member,of means for delivering material thereto, means actuated by said memberwhen a predetermined weight of material has been deposited therein tostop further feed of material thereto, means structurally-independentfrom the aforesaid means and actuated by a'car passing adjacent saidmember and operative regardless of the amount of material therein toeffect the transfer of the contents thereof to the car and to preventthe delivery of material to said member while material is beingdelivered therefrom.

7. In a loading apparatus, the combination with a yieldingly-sustainedreceiving member, of means to deliver material thereto, means actuatedby the movement of said member when it has received a predeterminedweight of material to stop the further feed of material thereto, meansactuated by a car passing adjacent said member and operative regardlessof the amount of material therein to effect the transfer of tion with areceiving member, of a chute to deliver material thereto, twostructurally-independent gates for the chute, means to close one gatewhen the receiving member has received-a predetermined amount ofmaterial from the chute, and means actuated by a car passing adjacentsaid receiving member to effect the discharge of the contents thereof tosaid car and simultaneously to close the other chute. I

9. In a loading apparatus, the combination with a hopper, of a chute fordelivering material thereto, a gate for said chute, means actuated bysaid hopper when a predetermined amount of material has been deliveredthereto to move said gate into op erative position, said hopper having adis charge opening and a gate therefor, means actuated by a car passingadjacent said hopper to open the hopper gate and allow the contents ofthe hopper to be discharged into the car, and another gate for the chuteconnected to and working in unison with the hopper gate, said other gatebeing closed when the hopper gate is open and vice versa.

10. In a loading apparatus, the combination with a yieldingly-sustainedhopper, of a chute for dischargingmaterial thereto, a gate for saidchute, means actuated by downward movement of the hopper when the lattercontains a predetermined amount of material to'close said gate, saidhopper having a discharge opening and a gate therefor, means actuated bya car passing adjacent said hopper to raise the hopper gate thereby toallow the contents of the hopper to be discharged into the car, upwardmovement of the hopper when the contents are discharged operating toopen the chute gate, and another gate for the chute connected to thehopper gate so as to be closed when the hopper gate is open and viceversa.

11. In a loading apparatus,the combination with a receiving member, ofmeans to deliver material thereto, means actuated by a car passingadjacent said member to effect a transfer of the contents of the-memberto the car, means to prevent the delivery 7 of material to the memberwhile such trans- 12. In a loading apparatus, the combination with areceiving member having a dis charge opening and a gate therefor, of achute to deliver material to said receiving member, means set inoperation by a car passing adjacent said member to open the gate thereofthereby to effect transfer of its contents to the car, means to stopdelivery of the material through the chute while said gate is open, andother structurally-independent means rendered operative automaticallywhen said receiving member has received a predetermined amount ofmaterial to close the chute against passage of material.

13. In a loading apparatus, the combination with a receiving member, ofmeans to deliver material thereto, a track extending adjacent saidreceiving member, means actuated by a car passing continuously in onedirection on said track to effect a transfer of the contents of themember to the car, means to prevent the delivery of material to saidmember while such transfer is being efi'ected, and otherstructurally-independent means rendered operative automatically whensaid member contains a predetermined amount of material to stop the flowof further material through the chute.

14. In a loading apparatus, the combination with a receiving member, ofa chute to deliver material thereto, two separate devices to control theflow of material through said chute, means rendered operativeautomatically when the receiving member has received a predeterminedamount of material to bring one of said devices into operation, andmeans actuated by a car passing beneath the receiving member to bringthe other device into operation.

15. In a loading apparatus, the combination with a receiving member, ofa chute to deliver material thereto, two separate devices to control theflow of material through said chute, means rendered operativeautomatically when the receiving member has received a predeterminedamount of material to bring one of said devices into operation, andmeans actuated by a car passing beneath the receiving member to bringthe other device into operation and to efiect a discharge of thematerial from the member into the car.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

HARRY B. DOHERTY.

l Yitnesses:

LoUIs C. SMITH, THOMAS J. DRUMMOND.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

